Much like the Cyclops in this Warlock build-a-figure wave, we’ve had Sunfire in the past but this is the one we’ve (or at least I have) been waiting for. Back in 2008 Hasbro ran a fan poll through Toyfare magazine to determine a HasbroToyShop.com exclusive. In some odd turn of events the fans saw it fit to vote in the Age of Apocalypse version of Sunfire over names like Gambit, First Appearance Storm, Magneto, and Silver Samurai. Proving that either Toyfare rigged this vote, or fans should never be allowed to vote on anything, ever.

In fairness, AoA Sunfire was actually a pretty good effort for 2008 Hasbro and a fairly lesser-known character. I still own him. He’s survived quite a number of Marvel Legends purges throughout the years. I would actually prefer that 2017/2018 Hasbro tackle those A-list characters like Gambit and First Appearance Storm anyway, so I guess the timing all worked out in the end. Plus we needed that Sunfire to fight build-a-figure Holocaust!

Sunfire is an arrogant mutant of Japanese descent who just can’t find it in him to work with a team for any extended period of time. He’s always loosely been affiliated with the X-Men in some form or another, but usually these team-ups are temporary at best. Shiro Yoshida’s alliances just never seem to last.

Sunfire looks to be the first reuse of the All New, All Different Spider-Man 2099 body that was introduced in the Sandman build-a-figure wave. We very well could see this mold eventually phase out the older Bucky Cap one since it’s just about the same size, but also adds the butterfly swing-joints to the chest. The only real differences are the new head, belt, and updated forearms since Spider-Man had spikes jutting out of his.

Besides the Warlock build-a-figure torso part, the only other accessory is a pair of flame effects that can be placed on his hands. BRAVO HASBRO! You did these ones perfectly! I mentioned in my Marvel Cinematic Universe Scarlet Witch figure review that I felt her energy effects looked more like soft-serve ice cream than magic or mutant ability. These effect parts fit perfectly on his hand and really capture the look of Sunfire’s mutant power.

So now that we have the classic Sunfire, will Hasbro make an attempt to complete the team in Giant-Size X-Men? Banshee and Warpath seem like real long shots as far as getting made again, and I’ve heard that Nightcrawler is currently on a list of mutants that license-holders are not allowed to use. That just leaves Wolverine, Colossus, and Storm … so yeah, with one X-Men wave a year this doesn’t look to be in the cards any time soon.

Sunfire is great! I can’t say a bad thing about the guy because the figure is just about perfect, and really shows off the new body. It’s always these secondary characters that slip in under my radar and end up surprising me the most. Sunfire is another definitive classic outfit that can now be checked off of collector’s lists.

The X-Men Warlock build-a-figure Marvel Legends series likely won’t hit online stores until mid-April. However, Targets have been getting them in stock. Of course you can always keep an eye on Amazon as well.

Question: How closely can the legs be brought together? I was just looking at the ANAD Spider-Man 2099 review and the pelvis/crotch-piece looks significantly wider than either the Spidey or Bucky bodies.

It was mentioned to us by a couple licensors doing Marvel action figures at Toy Fair. I’m assuming it’s some sort of royalties issue as they said there are only about 5-6 Marvel characters off limits. And even then, these things change all the time. In 2015 they weren’t even allowed to do any X-Men or mutants.